Sources: Marcum LLP, New York; CP staff Researchers for the Construction Services Group of Marcum LLP, a leading accounting and advisory firm, paint an overall positive view of current and future market trends in their just-released 2024 Marcum National Construction Survey. Key findings gleaned from responses to a 27-point survey of executives in building and nonbuilding markets include: “Despite the…
Read MoreTag: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
EPA quantifies $600B+ in clean water infrastructure needs through 2045
Sources: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; CP staff A new Environmental Protection Agency report to federal lawmakers projects future capital outlays to maintain or modernize publicly owned wastewater treatment works, stormwater infrastructure, nonpoint source control, and decentralized wastewater treatment systems like septic tanks. Such investments are deemed essential to supporting the Clean Water Act’s goal of fishable, swimmable waters from coast…
Read MoreThe Other Shoe Drops
In the last half of April, there were a couple of seminal economic events that, taken together, mark an example of proverbial shoes dropping, and for the first time in years, marks a cautionary signal on the economy. The first shoe to drop was when Fed Chairman Jay Powell unexpectedly announced that firmer-than-expected inflation during the first quarter has called…
Read MoreOpponents craft compelling arguments against Project Labor Agreement rule
If major construction project permitting, workforce and procurement challenges were not enough, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council has injected additional complications by making good on a White House directive requiring Project Labor Agreements on 100-plus contracts annually where federal funds exceed $35 million. Administration officials argue that PLAs promote economy and efficiency by eliminating the risk of delay associated with…
Read MoreABC: Davis-Bacon updates add paperwork, skew prevailing wage math
Capping a 28-month rulemaking process in August, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule, Updating the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Regulations, which revises prevailing wage calculations and increases paperwork for contractors on federal and federally assisted construction projects. “This is yet another handout to organized labor on the backs of taxpayers, small businesses and the free market,”…
Read MoreBuild America, Buy America fine print contrasts cast-in-place, precast concrete
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has formally delineated Build America, Buy America (BABA) requirements as they relate to concrete materials for Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)-funded building or nonbuilding construction projects. Final BABA sourcing requirement guidance issued last month indicates procurement interpretations relating to cast-in-place and precast concrete. It puts to rest questions surrounding IIJA…
Read MoreTeamsters state case for legacy Davis-Bacon wage standard
Sources: International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Washington, D.C.; CP staff The International Brotherhood of Teamsters applauds the Department of Labor (DOL) for its early-August ruling on prevailing wage standards under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA). The agency returns the definition of “prevailing wage” to a standard used from 1935 to 1983, thereby requiring compensation on federally funded construction projects to…
Read MoreStartup C60 leverages technology to optimize business operations
The pressure is on for concrete producers. Demand is high, especially with the passing of the U.S. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, but the market is more challenging than ever. Construction costs rose 14.1 percent year over year by the end of 2022, according to CBRE’s Construction Cost Index. Recruiting skilled labor continues to be difficult as many industry veterans…
Read MoreIndustrial Demonstrations Program: Deep pockets for decarbonization
Through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the White House is formally proceeding with a previously announced $6 billion funding program to accelerate decarbonization projects in energy-intensive industries and provide American manufacturers a competitive advantage in the emerging global clean energy economy. Funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA, 2021) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA, 2022), the Industrial…
Read MoreCalming Confidence
A visit with 2022-23 National Precast Concrete Association Chairman of the Board Joel Sheets Known for his calm demeanor, Joel Sheets, senior vice president of Operations for Tindall Infrastructure, not only has the confidence to be a leader recognized and appreciated throughout the Tindall organization but also to lead the entire precast industry. Sheets has built a team and a…
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